Fisherman finds 16-foot snake frozen solid in river

A pair of fishermen found a 16-foot long constrictor frozen in the Chagrin River in Ohio.

Sam Lincoln and his friend were fishing along the river when they found the big snake wrapped around a log. He posted an image of the snake to Instagram with the caption “When you’re trying to swing up some holiday steel and you don’t catch any fish but you catch a 16 foot constrictor instead.” While the snake he found is a constrictor, it is not actually a Boa.

Mike Durkalec, an aquatic biologist from Cleveland Metroparks, says this isn’t the first time he’s seen something like this. “Over the years, I’ve had two incidents where I’ve personally seen constrictors dead along our rivers this time of year. One was a 7-foot animal snagged by a fisherman; the other one, I found myself just along the side of the river. That was about a four to five foot boa,” he told reporters.

He says this is often the result of a pet owner releasing their domesticated snake into the wild when it becomes too big for their home.